Customer satisfaction improvement strategies in print on demand business

Modern buyers are getting more demanding and sophisticated each and every year. So, gaining customers’ loyalty is a tricky thing nowadays. Positive customer experiences are vital for business. According to the customer experience statistics, 86% of clients are ready to pay more to get a more reasonable service, and by 2025 the customer satisfaction will be more critical for the brand’s image than the price and product itself.

Taking into account that customers are very judgmental about low-quality services in a regular store, their attitude to online print on demand stores is even more serious. Every time a customer expects a remarkable experience, even though the seller’s involvement in the process is minimal, no excuses are allowed.

Table of contents

Importance of communication

What happens if customer satisfaction is not tracked properly?

Strategies to improve customer satisfaction

Conclusion

Importance of communication

Communication with customers has always been an integral part of every selling process. However, the tendency now is that people value their time and don’t want to waste it on thousands of confirmation and clarification calls. And still, there are customers who want to talk to a manager, make sure the order is accepted, etc. Specifically, this relates to direct-to-consumer businesses and print on demand services are among them. In our tech world, there are tons of different tools and applications to make your customer journey smooth and let them believe you are listening to them very carefully.

• Live chat or a chatbot. Such a solution helps you stay online 24/7 even if you are not physically at your PC. This is also a perfect way to connect with the clients during the shopping process and to support them right away.
• Ticket system. Such a system gathers all requests for customer support from a bunch of sources and dispatches them into one place, so that a person responsible for answers could process all of them.
• Virtual personal assistant. The best thing to share the platform is to hire a virtual assistant. Just outsource some basic tasks to your assistant and focus more on the business.

What happens if customer satisfaction is not tracked properly?

Firstly, make sure the clients’ expectations are managed properly. It is important to have all information related to the buying process on your website, like shipping terms, return and refund policies, etc.

Unlike the ready-to-go products, print on demand merchandise needs more time to be ready for shipping. This usually takes 3-4 days to prepare goods and then 1 day to dispatch them. Do not forget the shipping time itself. Be sure the buyer is aware of the delivery date. And, of course, supporting the client at this stage is essential for both sides as this significantly helps reduce negative feedback.

Don’t forget to add a detailed description of each and every item on your website. Let your customers see they are well-cared for. We suggest investing some time and money to find a good copywriter to cover these duties.

So, what happens when you do not track customers’ satisfaction? First of all, this will negatively influence the company’s reputation. Bad word of mouth can permanently harm the image of your brand. Protecting your brand through the prevention of negative situations is the best option.

Value your every client as gaining new buyers is much harder than retaining the existing ones and may cost you 6-7 times greater. 

Strategies to improve customer satisfaction

Customer is the most important part of the business. Applying different customer satisfaction strategies will certainly make them stay with you longer. To be the best in print on demand business is a difficult task but adopting some of the below strategies will definitely help to perform it efficiently:

1. Send samples. It is always a pleasure to receive a sample, isn’t it? That lets your customer see exactly what is the quality of your merch, its colors, etc. Besides, when you can hold that product in your hands, you can be sure you get what you order.
   Enabling the “Order a sample” option in your store will definitely eliminate the risk of receiving negative feedback.
2. Behavioral targeting. By personalizing your online store for different types of clients you’ll definitely gain their loyalty. This type of targeting is extremely useful to create a magic atmosphere for the clients to shop while having fun.
3. Loyalty campaigns. A loyalty program is a great tool to retain customers. By offering various discount opportunities, you will grant your clients good benefits all while receiving great feedback about your store. As a result, you give something to your buyer for free or reduce the price, and in return, you get much more than just an order — their loyalty, clients’ referrals, shares, and new purchases obviously.
4. Work on the confirmation messages. It is so important to thank customers for staying with you. Showing them your appreciation will definitely help in building strong and trustworthy relationships, while various modern tools can help you automate the process. Put your heart into the message and be creative, do not limit yourself with text but also use videos, emoji, and animated images (GIFs).
5. Social media users’ content. Encourage your buyers to create more content related to your brand, whether it is a giveaway, a review, or a picture of the happy customer, and your merchandise. Another tactic is to encourage some user-generated content. There is no better way to gain acknowledgment from the rest of the audience.
6. Customer experience surveys. Working with negative reviews and unhappy clients is one of the most complex and vital tasks for your store. It’s because the overwhelming majority of dissatisfied clients simply leave and never come back. 
   Checking your customers’ satisfaction is essential for business-customer relationships. This definitely helps to improve their experience by showing them your commitment. Compose your own list of necessary questions and ask clients to answer them honestly.

Conclusion

It is not easy to retain current buyers, but it is even more difficult to convert leads into purchases. So, improving clients’ experience will work both ways - for the existing ones and for newcomers. By delivering positive emotions to the buyers, you will ensure that they respond in a good way. You will increase chances that they not only return to your shop but also tell their friends about this wonderful store. These simple moves will improve your company, your image and encourage you to grow.

Building positive client experiences requires responsibility and some creativity. Research your clients very thoroughly to find those touchpoints and make the whole purchasing process better.